Dump-car.



No. 871,781; PATENTED NOV. 26, 1907.

W. A. GASWBLL.

DUMP GAR.

APPLIOATION FILED DEo.31, 1906x asnmcruv. n. c.

ma I

'UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM A. CASWELL, OI CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR IO NATIONAL DUMP CAR COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

DUMP-CAR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 26, 1907.

Application fled December 31,1906. Serial No. 350,200-

T o all whom 'it may concern.'

Be it known that I, Wimmer A. Ciiswnm., a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and use- -ful Improvements in Dumpars, of which the 'following is a specication.

My invention relates particularly to new and improved means for opening and closing the doors.

The purpose of the invention is, among other things, to avoid the objectionable features incident to the use of hinged joints and other joints now in use, due to the erosive action of moisture charged with sulfur and other injurious ingredir-:nts of the materials commonly transported in cars of the class to which my invention relates.

A further object of the invention is to provide a dump car with a Aflat floor, free from the inequalities due to the use of a stationary center board above the inner or hinged edges of the doors.

The invention 'further consists in the features, combinations and details of construction hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings-Figure l is a transverse sectional view of a car constructed in accordance with my invention, the section being taken on line l of l? 2, looking in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 2 is a plan of part of the car, showing the doors represented in AF ig. 1, one of the doors being raised to its closed position and the other in its open or lowered position.

The doors l2 and 13 shown in Fig. l are raised and lowered by any preferred form of mechanism, such mechanism forming no part of my present invention. Mechanism especially adapted to cooperate with the structure herein shown is, however, described in my companion application Serial No. 352,195. The doors are connected by a flexible plate 2 attached thereto by rivets or other suitable fastening means, the plate being countersunk in the doorspas illustrated-in order that the iloor of the car may present a smooth surface from one side to the other. IVhile contemplating constructing the plate 2 of steel of suitable temper and flexibility, I do not desire to be understood as restricting myself to this material. The width of the doors is such as to leave clearance at the center of the car for the I-beain l I or other structural member running longitudinally of the ear at its center. Upon the top of the member 4 is mounted a metal saddle 1 having its upper surface curved transversely for a purpose which will hereinafter appear. The highest part of the saddle is on a level with the lower surface of the flexible plate 2 when the doors are in their raised position. The degree of curvature of the upper surface of the saddle l is such that when the doors are lowered the plate 2 will bend in a gradual curve, thus avoiding the possibility of fracture.

In order to support the doors and hold them in proper relation to the car body, I provide links 14 and l5 pivoted at their upper ends to the lower sides of the doors near their inner edges and at their lower ends to a stationary part of the earin the present instance the stiil'ening plate 10 inserted between the Iebeams 4 and 11.

In the embodiment of my invention illustrated in the drawings, the links are shown pivoted at their upper ends to eyelets 6 and S suitably 'fastened to the lower sides of the doors and at their lower end to similar eyelets attached to or forming part of the plate l0. The eyelets to which the links are pivoted are so disposed that when the doors are in their closed or raised. position, the links will incline imvardly toward their upper ends, the eyelets (5 and S being nearer the center of the car than the eyelets 7 and 9, By this arrangement olI the. links in conjunction with the usual 'fastening 'means at the outer edges of the doors, the load upon the car bottom will be properly supported. As will be apparent from an inspection of l? ig. l of the drawings, the arrangement of the parts above described is such as to cause the links to turn inwardly on their lower pivots when the doors are lowered. As usual in cars of the class to which this invention relatos, the outer edges of the doors are provided with suitable means-not herein illustrated or described-for retaining them in their closed position.

It will be'obvious that in a car constructed in accordance with. my invci'ition there are no hinges or other pivoted parts exposed to the action of the contents of the car or to moisture innn'egnated with the ingredients of the, material transported in tho car, and that the Ilexible plates may be attached to the doors without the use of bolts or other projecting parts. It will also be understood that instead of links of the form illustrated'I may attach the door to the center sill by means of a plate extending throughout the width of the door and bent up at its edges to form bearings pivoted upon rods extending across the door. Such a structure would constitute a link of a width equal to that of the door, and the term link as used in the claims is intended to include either of the forms ol" link referred to.

What I claim is- 1. A car of the class described, having a ilat and level floor composed of doors and flexible plates connected to the doors, the movement of the doors being permitted by the bending of the plates.

2. In a car of the class described, a pair of doors connected by a flexible plate, the doors and plate forming a smooth uninterrupted floor from one side of the car to the other.

3. In a car of the class described, a pair of doors spaced apart at the center and connected by a ilexible plate so countersunk in the doors as to provide a smooth unbroken floor from one side of the car to the other.

4L. In a car of the class described, a pair of doors connected by a flexible plate, and a stipsi saddle having a curved surface adapted to co-act with the metal plate.

5. In a car of the class described, a pair of doors each connected to the body of the car and connected to each other bya flexible plate.

6. In a car of the class described, a pair of doors connected by links to a 'liXed part of the car, and a flexible plate connecting the doors each to the other.

7. In a car of the class described, 'a pair of doors, and links attached at their lower ends to a iixed part of the car and at their upper ends to the doors, the links being so connected that they incline inwardly toward their upper ends.

S. In a car of the class described, a pair of doors opening` downwardly at their outer edges, and links connecting the inner edges of the doors to a fixed part of the car, the connections between the links and the doors being nearer the center of" the car than the connections between the links and the 'fixed part of the car.

VILLIAM A. CASVELL.

Vitnesses W. T. JONES, W. A. SCOTT. 

